Chapter 9

Olivia Parker's voice broke through the silence, and suddenly everything made sense.

I realized that at some point, she'd started coming to the hospital to "take care" of both me and Ethan.

She'd ordered lunch for him today, and brought dinner she'd cooked herself in the evening.

"But she wouldn't want to see you like this," Olivia said.

Ethan's tone was the same as before—cold, distant. "This has nothing to do with you."

Olivia sounded frustrated, almost angry.

"The doctor said she might stay like this forever—maybe even become a vegetable. Do you really plan on taking care of her for the rest of your life?"

"This isn't your fault. It was just an accident. Don't you get that?"

After a long pause, Ethan finally spoke.

"Even if it was an accident, she wouldn't have been there if she hadn't been looking for me."

"Ning Ning wouldn't want you here. You should leave before things get misunderstood."

Olivia's voice was sharp, each word clear. "Do you really have no feelings for me at all?"

I heard the sound of a cup being placed on the bedside table. Then Ethan said:

"Ning Ning and I have been together for years. That's not something that can be replaced by a few months with someone else."

"I'll admit it—there was a time when I was tempted."

"We have more in common, our lives overlap more. You're gentler, and you don't argue with me like she does."

"I used to think that our life together had faded away in the daily grind, that we had too many problems."

"But even with all our fighting, I realized... I'd be lost without her."

"So I never once thought about being with you. I promised Luna Bennett that I'd be with her forever."

I'd always known him so well, Ethan Carter.

You only want what you can't have—or what you're about to lose.